Sublets in Florentin, Tel Aviv

The usual borders of Florentin are HaAliya Street to the east, Elifelet Street to the west, Jaffa Road (Derech Yafo) to the north and Salame Road (Derech Shlomo) to the south. The Levinsky Market is in the eastern part of the neighbourhood, and some people also count the neighbouring Merkaz Mischari (commercial centre) quarter as Florentin. Inside you'll find Florentin, Vital, Abarbanel, Herzl, Wolfson and Matalon streets, plus Washington Boulevard.

The neighbourhood went up in the late 1920s, was part of Jaffa until 1948, and is named after Shlomo Florentin, a builder who came from Thessaloniki. Neve Tzedek lies to the north, and Park HaMesila and the HaTachana compound sit right by the north-west corner. Across Salame to the south-west, Jaffa begins. East of HaAliya is Neve Sha'anan, home of the New Central Bus Station.

Florentin is known as Tel Aviv's street-art capital: lots of murals, plus galleries, cafés and places to go out. Florentin, a TV series that ran on Israel's Channel 2 from 1997 to 2001, fixed its image as young and lively, and it still draws young people who want nightlife close to home.

The obvious downside is noise. Bars cluster along the Florentin–Vital axis, and residents have complained about late-night noise for years. Days aren't always quiet either: some streets have workshops and trade, because the area was planned from the start as a mix of crafts, small industry and housing. Ask the host whether the apartment faces the street or the back (orfit in Hebrew), because here back-facing is a plus. And if you're bringing a car, sort out parking before you sign: the resident zone permit goes only to people whose Tel Aviv–Yafo address is registered with the Interior Ministry and who are on the arnona (municipal tax) roll as the occupier. Most subletters don't qualify.

The core of the neighbourhood still follows its original plan: low residential buildings on narrow streets, mixed in with workshops and small businesses. Some of the older buildings have no elevator, and then a top-floor apartment means hauling suitcases up the stairs. Some of the old carpentry shops and garages have been turned into residential lofts.

There is newer building too. Florentin Quartet (Revi'iyat Florentin), four oval nine-storey buildings with about 40 shops, stands at the corner of Derech Shlomo, Abarbanel and Ma'on. Florentin Village went up on the site of the HaAliya Market, a 1938 Bauhaus building that was mostly demolished in 2012. Buildings like these have elevators, and most have a safe room.

About that safe room (mamad): in 1992 Israel decided that all new construction must include a protected space. Florentin's older buildings went up long before that, and there the protected option is usually the internal stairwell or a public shelter. In Tel Aviv you have a minute and a half to reach a protected space, so ask the host where the nearest one is and time the walk there before you move in.

Elifelet station on the Red Line is at the northern end of Elifelet Street, next to Park HaMesila, and opened with the line in August 2023. The next stop towards the city centre is Allenby, and from there the line carries on to Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak and Petah Tikva. In the other direction it runs south to Jaffa and Bat Yam. From the south-west side of Florentin you can also walk to Shlomo station, on Jerusalem Boulevard near Salame.

For Israel Railways, the nearest station is Tel Aviv HaHagana, at the eastern end of Levinsky Street. Neve Tzedek and Jaffa are both within walking distance, and Herzl Street, which runs through Florentin, carries on north to Rothschild Boulevard and the Shalom Meir Tower.

Housing and rent in Florentin are relatively cheap compared with Tel Aviv's more established neighbourhoods. In Neve Tzedek, next door to the north, apartment prices are much higher. And within Florentin itself, expect an apartment in a new building with a safe room to cost more than one in an old building. We don't quote figures: a price without a source misleads.

Looking for a Florentin apartment for rent without an agent? Home Sublet charges no agency fee and no renter fee. A booking request only becomes a booking once the host approves it, and rent and deposit go straight to the host at the key handover, in cash or by a local transfer you agree on. Hosts who upload their landlord's consent get a “Landlord approved” badge, and it's worth looking for.